That day—
Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
The arena.
The Four-Academy Exchange, an event that drew the attention of the entire city.
The circular Spirit Arena, spanning thousands of square meters, was surrounded by audience seats that could hold tens of thousands of people.
Not a single seat was empty.
Every one of them was filled by Imperial Academy students.
The air buzzed with a tense, excited murmur:
"Imperial Academy will win for sure!"
"Don't pop the champagne just yet. Godwind, Blazing, Elephant Armored—none of them are pushovers!"
"Captain Yu Tianheng just got back from special training with his clan. His strength must have improved a lot—we've got a good shot at this!"
"Speaking of Captain Yu… if we could get Sword Wine here, it'd be a guaranteed win!"
The chatter rose and fell like waves.
Suddenly, countless eyes turned to the entrance of the VIP section. A line of figures slowly walked in.
At the center, flanked on both sides, was Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
On her right was Poison Douluo Dugu Bo; on her left, the Imperial Academy's three Board of Education members—Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin.
However, what surprised the students the most was that beside Dugu Bo was a young man in a white shirt. The young man had a handsome face and a lazy smile on his lips.
"Uh… who's that?"
"The three Board of Education members are all Spirit Douluo, and Dugu Bo is a Titled Douluo. Why is that young man standing there?"
"I heard the Crown Prince has a very close friend—could it be him?"
"Even so, that doesn't explain this!"
…
The whispers drifted into Li Zhexian's ears.
He sighed quietly.
"I could've just sat in the stands. Why drag me up here?"
A rare smile touched the stern face of Dugu Bo.
"Zhexian, you're our fireman today—no need to be polite."
Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin all chuckled and nodded in agreement.
They already knew—the young man in white before them was none other than the famed Sword Wine of Heaven Dou.
Even setting aside his friendship with the Crown Prince—
The fact that he was here to bail out the Academy was enough to earn their gratitude.
After all—
If the Imperial Academy lost on their home ground, the three Board of Education members would have no face left to show.
The group took their seats one after another.
As the royal representative and host, Xue Qinghe rose to address the crowd.
Her warm, clear voice carried across the entire arena:
"Welcome to the three outstanding academies visiting Heaven Dou City…"
The long string of official pleasantries was enough to make Li Zhexian drowsy.
He cast a sidelong glance at the regal figure beside him—
It was hard to connect this poised royal with the person who had fought him over a chicken wing just yesterday.
Fortunately, Xue Qinghe didn't drag things out.
Next, Chief Board of Education member Meng Shenji began introducing the visiting teams.
First to enter was the Elephant Armored Academy Battle Team.
The first to enter was the Elephant Armored Academy team. Seven young men, all over two meters tall and weighing more than three hundred pounds, walked in with heavy steps. Their mountainous presence made the students in the audience gasp.
Li Zhexian looked at these "human fortresses" with interest.
Just then—
Cough, cough!
From across Dugu Bo, Xue Qinghe leaned back slightly and gave two soft coughs toward him.
Li Zhexian leaned back as well, smiling faintly.
"What is it?"
Xue Qinghe's hand, curled in a loose fist, slid over toward him.
He opened his palm.
A few plump, crystal-clear candied fruits dropped into his hand.
In a low, quick voice, Xue Qinghe said:
"Elephant Armored Sect—Captain Hu Yanli, forty-second rank Defense-type Spirit Ancestor."
"All seven's Martial Souls are Diamond Mammoths. They run a single-attribute extreme defense lineup—no Control or Support types at all."
Li Zhexian chewed the candied fruit, nodding in understanding.
A wall of seven top-tier Defense-type Beast Martial Soul users—definitely troublesome.
As the sweetness melted in his mouth, he glanced at her.
"This exchange meet… it's important to you?"
She was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"This is my first time, since becoming Crown Prince, hosting a major event on behalf of the royal family. I need it to go well."
"Got it."
Looking at his refined profile, a small warmth stirred in her heart.
At that moment—
The Blazing Academy Battle Team, dressed in gold-and-red uniforms, entered.
Xue Qinghe was about to continue her introductions.
"This team is Blazing—"
"I know."
Li Zhexian's eyes were already on the arena floor.
"I saw them just yesterday."
"Oh?" Xue Qinghe's eyebrows raised slightly.
Her gaze slid over the dark-red, wavy-haired vice-captain, Huo Wu, and—seemingly offhand—she remarked:
"That Vice-Captain Huo Wu really is strikingly beautiful."
"Hmm?"
The swordsman's instincts sparked.
Li Zhexian rubbed his chin and snorted.
"She's fine. Nothing special."
A faint smile played at Xue Qinghe's lips.
When the final team entered the arena—
She set aside her teasing, her elegant face turning solemn.
"Li Zhexian, the rest of Godwind Academy's members are manageable."
"But their captain, Feng Xiaotian, is no ordinary opponent. He's also a Spirit Ancestor above rank forty, with the Martial Soul Stormwind Doubleheaded Wolf."
"Most importantly…"
"From what I know, he's created his own Spirit Ability."
"Oh?"
Li Zhexian's gaze found the sunny young man in light blue uniform.
A self-created Spirit Ability?
Now that was interesting.
In the original story, Godwind Academy had placed just behind the Spirit Hall Team and Shrek Academy.
"Imperial Battle Team… won't have an easy win."
With all three guest teams present—
It was time for the host, the Imperial Battle Team, to make their entrance.
The moment they appeared, the cheers were deafening, shaking the arena.
The rules were simple.
Four teams drew lots and fought in pairs.
Winners advanced, the final deciding first place.
Under thousands of watching eyes, the results were revealed:
Imperial Battle Team vs. Elephant Armored Battle Team!
Blazing Battle Team vs. Godwind Battle Team!
As the four teams prepared to take the stage—
Huo Wu from the Blazing Battle Team's gaze happened to sweep over the VIP section and saw the young man in the white shirt putting candied fruits into his mouth.
"Eh?!"
Her bright crimson eyes widened in surprise.
"Isn't that the little brother who said Sword Wine was very strong yesterday? Why is he sitting there?!"
Huo Wushuang and the others followed her gaze.
Sure enough—
It was the same youth with white shirt they'd met at the noodle stall.
Huo Wushuang's brow furrowed, his voice low.
"Forget the small stuff for now."
"The first match is going to be a tough one—stay sharp."
"Yes!"
On the other side of the arena—
The seven members of the Emperial Battle Team stepped slowly up the stairs.
Yu Tianheng clenched his fists, murmuring:
"The Crown Prince, Poison Douluo, and the three Board of Education members are all here."
"If we lose, we'll be humiliated."
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's beautiful eyes flicked toward the white figure in the VIP seats, a faint smile on their lips.
With him here—
The Imperial Academy wasn't going to lose.
Yu Feng and Osler were equally relaxed.
"Boss, relax. With him here, we're fine."
Yu Tianheng's expression darkened slightly.
He'd only been back from his clan for a few days—
And already it felt like his teammates didn't recognize him as captain anymore…